Attie Jackson's Very Official Demigod Survival Guide

Chapter Three

Smelly Gabe didn't look at us. "So, you're home."

"Where's my mom?" Percy asked. 

"Working," he said. He narrowed his eyes at us. "You got any cash?'

You know, the important stuff. I didn't expect Smelly Gabe to ask us how the last six months had been, but I will admit, it was a little embarrassing. Not even pretending for his friends. 

Not that they would care. 

I don't even know what Gabe always needed our money. He had his job I mentioned before, and they happily paid him to do nothing. He spent most of his time sitting around. I suppose most of that money went to cigars and beer, so our money was needed for...more cigars and beer. And gambling, of course. He called it "our secret." Also known as "I will actually murder you if you tell anyone."

Oh. Whoops. 

"I don't have any cash," Percy insisted. 

"Yeah, I got nothing," I said. I turned my pockets inside out to prove it. 

Gabe raised a greasy eyebrow. I resisted the urge to start twisting my ring again. He could sniff out money like a bloodhound, he really didn't need another sign I was nervous. 

"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty.Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"

Eddie was the super of our apartment building. Of Gabe friends, he was the nicest to us. Which didn't really mean much. 

"Come on, Gabe," Eddie said. "The kids just got here."

"Am I right?" Gabe repeated. 

Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. Still, he said nothing else. See what I mean? The other guys looked entirely unbothered. 

"Fine." Percy dug a wad of cash out of his pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose." 

"Your report card came, brain boy. I wouldn't act so snooty," Gabe sneered. Then, he turned to me. "What about you, girl?"

"Still nothing," I said. 

Gabe narrowed his eyes at my book bag, like a dog narrowing in on their prey. Since he was going to harass me over it until I proved I didn't have any money, I passed the bag over. He foraged through it without shame. My embarrassment was only slightly soothed by the fact that his friends seemed put off by it as well. 

Finally Gabe let out a grunt and shoved my bag back to me. He barely bother to put anything back. Thanks. Jerk. 

Once our inspection was done, the two of us hurried past and went straight for the room. 

I say "the room" because it wasn't really our room. While we were act school, it was Gabe's "study." He never used it to study. Instead he cheerfully shoved all of our things into the closet, smear mud from his boots across everyone, and basically just make it a total mess. In case we forgot he existed. 

As soon as Percy slammed the door shut, I removed the cash from my boot. I'd folded and shoved it down the side right before we came in. 

Listen. It's my money. I've got to have some kind of trick to keep it. 

We had a bunk bed that definitely shouldn't have been put in an apartment. To fit into the small room, it had been crunched, so that you couldn't sit on either bunk – either pressed between two beds or a bed and the ceiling. Despite this, I still pulled myself onto my bunk – the top one, because Percy got the longer stick for the good one – and staring at the ceiling.